Topsoil for chickens!

[aart]

But I mean we can build one if it's necessary? I just didn't think it would be since they have free range of our garden all day and only go into the coop at night. Please let me know!

Best to get one built before winter.
Free ranging can go bad and they won't want to be out during nasty winter weather.

 

[Tonyroo]

My 6×5×8 coop with 2 roost bars can fit 10 full size chickens. But I only have 5 chickens in there to sleep and lay eggs. All my chickens roam all of my yard during daylight hours and they have access to the hillside behind the house that's an open wilderness.

 

[Hollysaurus]

No you don't need to follow the guidelines. But understand your limit of chickens for sleeping in the prefab coop. Four chickens should be the limit for the prefab coop and assuming you have full size chickens.

Not full size yet, We only have 4 chickens. Two are 3 months old and the other two are only 1 month.

 

[Hollysaurus]

Best to get one built before winter.
Free ranging can go bad and they won't want to be out during nasty winter weather.

I can see about adding onto the one we bought, Since my husband can build practically anything. I'm sure he can extend the coop we have if it's an issue. I'm not too worried at the moment since two are only 3 months old, and the other two are not even 1month yet, they will be on the 25th though. Good point though about the winter!

 

[NatJ]

If the chickens are free range and run around my garden daily, they only go in the coop to sleep, or the run to eat/drink, do I still need to follow these guidelines?

Partly yes and partly no.

Roost space: yes, they need that much space, because that is where they are sleeping. So 4 feet of roost would be the recommended amount for your 4 chickens to sleep on. That gives them enough room to spread a few inches apart in hot weather, or they can snuggle tight together in cold weather.

Nestboxes: yes, because that is where they will lay their eggs. Your prefab coop has more than 1 nestbox, so it's fine for 4 hens.

Ventilation: probably yes, because they need the ventilation when they sleep. They need the ventilation so they are not too hot as they sleep, but they also need it (even in winter) because of the ammonia from their droppings and the moisture from their breath. Chickens poop a LOT while they sleep, so it really is a big point to keep in mind.

Floor space: if the chickens are NEVER shut in while the sun is up, the floor space probably doesn't matter much. Those guidelines assume the chickens are sometimes shut up in their coop, and are often shut up in their coop + run.

Reasons that chickens might be shut in:
--at night, to keep them safe from predators. This means they are stuck inside until you come open their door in the morning.
--bad weather, either because you close them in, or because they put themselves in to avoid the snow, rain, wind, etc.
--you get sick, or your schedule changes, or you go away on vacation. Any of these can interfere with opening/closing doors for the chickens.
--the chickens start flying out of your backyard, a neighbor complains, and you have to shut them in the coop & run while you figure out a long-term solution
--a predator comes into your yard in the daytime and scares (or kills) your chickens, so you shut any remaining chickens safely in their run while you decide what to do next.
--the chicks poop on your porch, scratch up your flowers, and generally make a nuisance of themselves, so you shut them in their run while you construct a bigger run.
--in the past few months, quite a few keepers have shut their chickens into covered pens to try to protect them from Avian Influenza that can be spread by wild birds.

The usual guidelines are written to allow the chickens to be shut in, for extended lengths of time if needed, because there are so many common situations when that is needed.

Not full size yet, We only have 4 chickens. Two are 3 months old and the other two are only 1 month.

By the time they are about 4 months old, most chickens are close to their adult size. They will continue to get heavier, but not much taller or longer. A common guideline is to provide adult amounts of space by the time they are 8 weeks old (2 months.)

 

[Hollysaurus]

Partly yes and partly no.

Roost space: yes, they need that much space, because that is where they are sleeping. So 4 feet of roost would be the recommended amount for your 4 chickens to sleep on. That gives them enough room to spread a few inches apart in hot weather, or they can snuggle tight together in cold weather.

Nestboxes: yes, because that is where they will lay their eggs. Your prefab coop has more than 1 nestbox, so it's fine for 4 hens.

Ventilation: probably yes, because they need the ventilation when they sleep. They need the ventilation so they are not too hot as they sleep, but they also need it (even in winter) because of the ammonia from their droppings and the moisture from their breath. Chickens poop a LOT while they sleep, so it really is a big point to keep in mind.

Floor space; if the chickens are NEVER shut in while the sun is up, the floor space probably doesn't matter much. Those guidelines assume the chickens are sometimes shut up in their coop, and are often shut up in their coop + run.

Reasons that chickens might be shut in:
--at night, to keep them safe from predators. This means they are stuck inside until you come open their door in the morning.
--bad weather, either because you close them in, or because they put themselves in to avoid the snow, rain, wind, etc.
--you get sick, or your schedule changes, or you go away on vacation. Any of these can interfere with opening/closing doors for the chickens.
--the chickens start flying out of your backyard, a neighbor complains, and you have to shut them in the coop & run while you figure out a long-term solution
--a predator comes into your yard in the daytime and scares (or kills) your chickens, so you shut any remaining chickens safely in their run while you decide what to do next.
--the chicks poop on your porch, scratch up your flowers, and generally make a nuisance of themselves, so you shut them in their run while you construct a bigger run.
--in the past few months, quite a few keepers have shut their chickens into covered pens to try to protect them from Avian Influenza that can be spread by wild birds.

The usual guidelines are written to allow the chickens to be shut in, for extended lengths of time if needed, because there are so many common situations when that is needed.


By the time they are about 4 months old, most chickens are close to their adult size. They will continue to get heavier, but not much taller or longer. A common guideline is to provide adult amounts of space by the time they are 8 weeks old (2 months.)

I am so glad I joined this site because in all honesty I wouldn't of thought about all that. I'm sure we can sell the coop we bought and just build one, building one seems the better option since you get what you want, unless we find a premade one that is suitable. If you have any suggestions, sites, etc please let me know!

I really appreciate the help. Thank you!

 

[Tonyroo]

You can use the prefab coop for injured, sick chickens or as a brooder for future chicks. If and when you have a proper coop built for them.

 

[NatJ]

If you have any suggestions, sites, etc please let me know!

As a general thing, extra-big is not a problem, but too small is. If you ever have a chicken get bullied by another, or if you want to raise new chicks and combine them with older hens, they will need more than the "usual" amount of space at those times.

Some people with long cold winters make their coop as big as a "run," so they provide 10 square feet per chicken, or even more. Some people in hot climates make an open air coop, which is basically just a covered run with few or no solid walls.

In your climate, I suspect a traditional coop with solid walls and attached run might work best, but do be sure you have enough ventilation even in the wintertime. Chickens usually do fine with dry cold, but cold & humid (from their own breath) makes them more prone to frostbite on their combs and wattles.

If you make your run thoroughly predator-proof, you will not need to close the chickens in their coop at night for safety, but can leave them free to come out as early as they wake up in the morning. This also comes in very handy if you go away on vacation, because you can have someone just check their food & water rather than needing to let them out and shut them in.

This site has an "articles" section, and many people have written articles there about their coops. There are many different styles, because people live in different climates, have different numbers of chickens, and have different styles of keeping their chickens.

I suggest you look through the coop articles and see some of the many options. You will probably come up with a lot more questions for us, and hopefully we'll provide good answers for you

 

[3KillerBs]

If the chickens are free range and run around my garden daily, they only go in the coop to sleep, or the run to eat/drink, do I still need to follow these guidelines?

This is from an article I'm writing:

But I free range/have a huge run and my chickens only use the coop to sleep and lay eggs! Why do I need all that space inside?

You might not. As I've said, these are guidelines, not hard-and-fast rules.

If you never close the pop door so that your coop and run function together as a fully integrated system that is the equivalent of a huge, open-air coop, then your flock might be just fine for years, even decades.

If you are always out there to open the pop door at the crack of dawn or you have an ultra-reliable automatic door so that your chickens never lack access to their free range territory during the daylight hours, then your flock might be just fine for years, even decades.

If you live in a mild climate where chickens can always go out into their run/range and are never kept in by snow or storms, then your flock might be just fine for decades. People who keep chickens in places with tropical and subtropical climates do successfully go without a coop at all, just offering a covered roost and some nestboxes.

But when something happens ...

When a determined predator moves in and breaks through the fencing so that you have to confine the flock to the coop itself so that you can fix the run,

When an extreme weather event prevents your chickens from leaving shelter for days,

When an emergency calls you out of town and you can't find someone willing to be there at the crack of dawn to open the pop door,

Then you could have a mess on your hands.

Which brings us back to the issue of flexibility and options. Any time you push a system hard against it's limits you have to count on everything remaining stable -- exactly as it is without any changes. How well that's likely to work depends on your specific circumstances. You may never encounter an unfortunate circumstance -- some people DO hit the lottery, after all.

And this is another of my articles: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/over-sized-isnt-just-for-sweaters.77604/

I have seen photos of a "coop" that was nothing but a roost with a roof and one wall in one place, some nestboxes mounted on a fence near the driveway, and a shelter for the feeder in the middle of the fenced field.

But this was in a subtropical climate. Anywhere that gets snow needs to have a place for the birds to go when it snows.

 

[Hollysaurus]

As a general thing, extra-big is not a problem, but too small is. If you ever have a chicken get bullied by another, or if you want to raise new chicks and combine them with older hens, they will need more than the "usual" amount of space at those times.

Some people with long cold winters make their coop as big as a "run," so they provide 10 square feet per chicken, or even more. Some people in hot climates make an open air coop, which is basically just a covered run with few or no solid walls.

In your climate, I suspect a traditional coop with solid walls and attached run might work best, but do be sure you have enough ventilation even in the wintertime. Chickens usually do fine with dry cold, but cold & humid (from their own breath) makes them more prone to frostbite on their combs and wattles.

If you make your run thoroughly predator-proof, you will not need to close the chickens in their coop at night for safety, but can leave them free to come out as early as they wake up in the morning. This also comes in very handy if you go away on vacation, because you can have someone just check their food & water rather than needing to let them out and shut them in.

This site has an "articles" section, and many people have written articles there about their coops. There are many different styles, because people live in different climates, have different numbers of chickens, and have different styles of keeping their chickens.

I suggest you look through the coop articles and see some of the many options. You will probably come up with a lot more questions for us, and hopefully we'll provide good answers for you

Spoke to my husband about all this, this morning.

We're currently having our house renovated and we have a spot in our garden where we could build a coop ourselves, we'll build a standing one so we can walk in, etc. My husband built his mothers chicken coop and it holds 15+ hens. It's a very big coop, more like a shed, haha.

When we get the fencing done, etc since we're having all our fencing replaced as well, we'll start work on the new coop. Just might be a pain for them if we start it now with it being in the way when it comes to redoing all the fencing.

We also plan to put chicken wire around the top of our fences, like a prison? lol! That's the only way I can explain it but it'll look prettier! It's to try and stop them from jumping over the fence, they haven't yet but I just don't want them too since we have dogs on either side.